Raise your hand the one who is seeing this dress for the first time.
The three from the bottom: what island have they lived on?
(Laughter)
No, nobody raised a hand.
The discussion about whether this dress was white and gold, or blue and black,
It became a worldwide phenomenon.
For me it was fascinating to see how, that day, something that could seem so banal
generated a huge amount of conversations,
in person and digitally, throughout the world.
But I must confess that, if this had happened months before,
instead of marveling, I would have felt a bit of contempt, maybe.
It seemed that the superfluous had won over what was important.
Little was discussed, for example, of the 300 Christian hostages
that caught the Islamic State that day.
Full Disclosure, far from being a “half ninja”,
Today is a “half grinja” in recovery.
Before jumping into the digital world,
I thought that paper was the only transcendental thing;
that, if you could not touch something, it would eventually vanish;
that what the newspapers printed was what really mattered.
And, definitely, that we provide the few resources that we have
The entertaining and funny content was almost like a crime.
However, I have learned that those who want this type of content
they also seek to understand the world in depth, using ingenious means.
Yes, they seek to laugh, but they also look for serious, sensitive and reliable journalism;
the journalism that bothers the power, the journalism that denounces the abuses;
that journalism that reminds us
those forgotten stories of a majority that every day struggles to survive and that,
from a merely egoistic point, it helps us to remember us
how privileged we are and the responsibility we have.
When I started working at BuzzFeed,
I went out to have a drink with a colleague who came from the Los Angeles Times,
where he did a series of reports about Toyota that ended up forcing
to the company to withdraw more than 10 million cars throughout the world.
That work was left as a finalist for the Pulitzer.
Then I asked him the obvious question:
“Why with that path would you go to a digital medium that makes content
that many interpret as not serious? “
“Because here I do the same, but I have more fun.
As simple as that”.
And he’s right:
My colleagues have gone to Cambodia to talk to victims of sexual slavery;
to Syria, to track the geographical expansion
of the Islamic State;
to Japan, to investigate the struggle in favor of equal marriage.
I had to go to Venezuela to do patrols with the Caracas police
to see up close the challenges they face
with this wave of increasing violence.
This month, for example, I went to Honduras to talk with workers in a factory
that for years, he produced clothes for Donald Trump, in deplorable conditions.
And not just that we go.
Once we have the material, the process is just as rigorous
than in any traditional medium.
There are several rounds of editing, postproduction,
of talks with lawyers if the subject merits it.
It may be content produced in a digital medium, by young people,
but in the end it is a quality product.
And that, finally, is what defines if it is transcendental or not.
And, yes, this content lives in a sea of hairy animals
and “What Disney princess are you?” test,
that make us laugh while facing a painful reality.
And also lives with a dress that went around the world.
But they live in harmony.
One type of content does not detract from the other.
Quite the opposite.
The creativity of some digital media to catch us in a nostalgic test of
“What music of the 90s do we recognize?”,
It is also applied to explain reality, current events.
A recent experiment, for example, is to tell the news
with a very short voice that causes a very pleasant sensation,
as well as a tickle.
The method is called Autonomous Meridian Sensorial Response.
(Voice whispering in English)
(…) where we take you on a relaxing trip through the news.
Now, as a first step,
you can turn off those “live video” notifications from Facebook.
Did you feel that rich tickle?
(Laughter)
I feel it. Like, I’m weird.
(Laughter)
Thus, some digital media are attracting a more diverse public;
an audience that shares the content and, yes, it goes viral.
Which, in turn, generates more interest.
It is an audience that wants to understand the phenomena around it and learn.
And that brings us back to the dress.
Far from being just a conversation among friends about colors,
The dress opened several debates.
The first was scientific about why
the brain perceives colors as well and how it filters information.
It was also a philosophical issue.
He reminded us that our personal experiences
influence our perceptions.
He also opened a debate on domestic violence.
The Salvation Army in South Africa,
a country where there are very high rates of gender violence,
created a campaign where a young girl appears in the white and gold dress,
but with bruises on the face and legs.
And the text at his side says:
“Why is it so hard to see blue and black?”
referring to the bruises.
So the next time you see a dress making noise in some digital medium,
do not dismiss that, although it may seem superficial,
There are important lessons to learn.
And that in that same place you can also do that journalism that,
As challenging and complex, it is threatened;
that journalism that is profound and increasingly indispensable.
Thank you.
(Applause)
”
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